New Maryland Safety Law Takes Effect January 1 2018

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Your weekend chore list should contain replacing an outdated home smoke alarm with a 10-year sealed alarm, say Maryland fire officials. While state lawmakers mandated the change back in 2013, they gave residents five years to swap out their alarms, and add them to homes. But on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, the law takes full effect; most Maryland laws kicked in Oct. 1, see a link to that list below.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department called the change a law "aimed at reducing home fire deaths." Any 9-volt battery operated smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old must now be replaced with a unit powered by a 10-year sealed-in battery that has a “hush” button feature to shut it down if it's accidentally tripped. More than 800,000 Maryland homes with battery-only alarms are estimated to be affected.

Smoke alarms need to be placed on every level of the home and outside the sleeping areas, such as the hallway accessing the bedrooms, say fire officials. Each bedroom should also have an alarm to ensure sound sleepers are alerted if smoke enters the room.

Anne Arundel Fire Department spokesman Russ Davies told the Capital-Gazette, “It’s a new law, but it’s a good practice. If your smoke alarm is more than 10 years old, it’s a good idea to replace it anyway.”

SEE ALSO: New Maryland Laws Take Effect October 1, 2017

Two-thirds of all home fire deaths nationally occur in homes with either no smoke alarm or no working smoke alarm, most often because they are missing batteries or they have been disconnected. By sealing the battery inside the alarm, the unit becomes tamper resistant and will save lives.

While hard-wired smoke alarms are not effected by the legislation, their efficiency is also affected by age, the department said. Maryland’s Smoke Alarm Law requires the replacement of all smoke alarms when they are 10 years old. This applies to both hard-wired and battery-operated smoke alarms, say Montgomery County officials.

The date of manufacture, while sometimes hard to locate, should be printed on the back of smoke alarms. If no manufacture date is printed on your alarm, experts say it is likely outdated and should be replaced.

Code also requires that new homes be built with an AC powered, battery back-up smoke alarm in every bedroom, in the common area outside of the bedrooms and on every other level of a home, with all of the alarms interconnected.

Requirements for Landlords

Landlords of one-and two-dwelling units must upgrade battery smoke alarms to the new, 10-year sealed battery units whenever there’s a change in occupancy or when those systems are 10 years old or malfunction.

Tenants in buildings with more than two units are responsible for testing the smoke alarms and notifying their landlords of any problems. If problems are reported, the landlords are required to replace or repair the broken systems.
Other New Maryland Laws

Previously we broke down laws taking effect Oct. 1. They include banning fuzzy dice or any other "object, material or obstruction hanging from the rearview mirror." While police cannot pull drivers over for this offense alone, it is a secondary violation that can be added to the list if a driver is suspected of another offense.

That is just one of many new policies that went into force this fall. Changes in definitions of crimes such as rape and animal cruelty also become law, and people with marijuana and assault charges may be eligible to have their records expunged.

See the full list of new laws from the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.

SIGN UP: Get Patch's daily newsletter and real-time news alerts, or like us on Facebook. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.

Photo of Maryland State House by Patch Editor Emily Leayman